Steel golf-club shaft



W. F. HOERLE sfr/FEL GOLF CLUB SHAFT Feb. 16 1926.

' Filed Nov. 18, 1924 Patented Feb. 16, 1926.

UNITED STATES APA'rlazNr OFFICE.

WILLIAM FERDINAND HOERLE, OF TORRINGTON, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO UNIONHARDWARE COMPANY, OF TORRINGTON, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION FCONNECTICUT.

Application filed November To all whom #may concer/n.'

Be Lit known" that I, WILLIAM F. I-IonRLE, a citizenp'ofthe UnitedStates of America, residing at .'lorrington, county of Litchfield',

' STEEL GpLF-CLUB SHAFT.

18, 1924. Serial No. 750,516.

views showing different ways of fastening a shaft in a head.

The blank 7 is` preferably of seamless tubing of loW carbon steel havingsay from State of Connecticut, have inventedga new 10 to 20 points ofcarbon, that is from .1 to

and useful Steel Golf-Club Shaft, of which the following is aspecification.

My inventlon relates to handles or shafts for golfclubs.

The ordinary Wooden shaft is, of course, quite flexible and hasdesirable torsional characteristics which make the club lively, but itis very fragile, uncertain in quality and) considerably affected bymoisture. It has heretofore. been proposed to. make such devices ofsteel. Some of these devices, however, have been very heavy and `rigidand others very' fragile. Shafts have been made of steel strips formedinto t-ubes but these are difficult to make uniformly and are likely tosplit open. So far as I know no one has heretofore been abfe to producecommercially an integral or seamless tubular golf club shaftsufficiently Well balanced, light and pliable t0 be useful and yet suf-.bility of the tube gradually increases as the cientlyv strong to standthe severe stresses'v to which such a shaft is subjected. V The mainobject of my invention is to provide a light but strong, smooth anddurable metallic shaft which will look and act very much like afirst-class4 Wooden shaft and yet not have the objectionablecharacterisv ticsof Wood.

I have also sought to provide a shaft capable of commercial productionaccording to standard specifications and ata loW cost.

I have found it possible to make a satis factoryshaft froman ordinarycylindrical low carbon seamless steel tubeV by shaping or drawing itinto taper form, then carbonizing the tapered tube and heat treating andfinishing it.

Figure 1 is a side vieu7 of a golf club of r standard form having-ashaft embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of a tubular blank from which a shaft is made.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the finishedshaft. Figs. l and 5 aretransverse-sectional views of the shaft on' an enlarged scale takenrespectively at the upper and lower ends of theshaft.

Figs. 6 and 7 are-enlargeddetail sectional .2 of one per centum ofcarbon. The outside diameter of the blankis preferably about of an inch.The gauge of the metal is preferably `from .015 to .018, although it maybe lighter or heavier. About .0167' is quite desirable for a drivershaft.

This blank is rolled or sWaged to the desired taper. For instance anordinary golf club shaft Would be something over 3 feet long andapproximately {'26- of an inch in diameter at the smallest point in theneck 8. The tapering process should preferably elongate the tube anddraw it down so that 'there Will be less metal in the cross-section inthe smallest point than there is in the largest diameter of the tube andleave the Wall thicker in the neck than at the larger end. Ah elongationof ten per cent is usual. 4That is', from say 36 to 40.

section is taken nearer the small end. This also makes the' tube moreflexible in the neck. A satisfactory thickness of the Wall at the neck'would be .019, although it may ble a little thicker or a little thinnerthan t iis.

After the tube has been Workedto the ydesire'lshape and size, it iscarbonized in a suitable manner, for instancein a gas fired tube or in acharcoal or coke furnace 'or electrically. This is' done, preferably. ata comparatively lou7 temperature, say '1450o F. seas not to injurethesteel. This carbonizing is continued until the carbon content of theJsteel is increased to a suitable amount for thepurpose required, sayfrom six tenths to one per centum. The carbon content can be increasedeven somewhat above one per cent by careful treatmentbit I do ,notconsider it necessary to go above .75 .to .8O and in some cases a tubewith even less than .75 per centum of carbon can be Vheat treated andhardened. The tube is then heat treated and drawn to the desired temperand then provided Witlna suitable .non-corrosive'finish. Such a shaftshould ,Weigh from about lfive to'six ounces.

f The length of course is a matter of accommodation to the'individual.The Weight will necessarily .rary vriththe length. The weight and.stiffness of'some clubs. is ofcourse less critical than others. Forinstance, a putter shaft doesnotneed to be asoflexibleor tol'- 'sible asa driver.

l'Allow carbon steel tube is notonlyflc'ss expensive than a' highcarbontube .but it' isxinuch. cheaper and easier to Work without injuryto the metal. 4 The rolling or `I OSWaging is preferablyV done coldjandnot4 only compacts the metal but drawsout the fibre in the direction ofthe length of the shaft particularly in- .the smaller part so as. toutilize the strengthof the'metalof greelthan would be possiblewit 'steelwhen. properly donejproduce's a` cons get in a tubemade fr dition'Wherether'e is. morel carbon in lthe metalnear the surface than there'is inside.' Consequently when hardened and tempered 'We have a hardexterior orskilr and' a softer y interior and the tube is resilient 'andyet tougher and stronger than is possible to .carbon steel.

The 'upper orhandleend'of the tube may be left 0f uniform diameter ifdesired and provided with any suitable .forni/of grip 1 0. f

The shaft may be4 used any.. style provide .thel lower end -v i of theshaft with a tapered enlargement 12" integral with' the shaftand adaptedto be fitted Vand lheld inkthesbcket of the head" in the sa-Inemannerthat' afwooden 'shaft is held. It should be'understood',i of course,`

--h'owever,4 thatfthe' lower end may"be inlsertedand he-ldin any formofjwooden head in substantially thell same' manner' that' a Wooden shaftis held.

In some cases it may bedesirable to reinforee 4thetube adjacent theheadby' means I ,Sonia in' attesa 14 per-mas aight bend-.-

V ing of the shaft'and yet reinforee'siit fatv this point'. wherethe-stressisf'verygreat.- f

of a. ferru'le' or plugsuchas 13 .inF-ig". 6.`

The curvedend adjacent thev 'entrance v'to the -reinforce thel tubeatthis point. v v- Such a shaft no t. only-has the requisite.

content at; the

In case the socket 15 ofthe head is larger .than the end 'of 'theshaft Imay .employ a illerferrul'e 16.. nnerfplugl' may beused to s readf theend oflthe shaft -in an .prevent .the metal from bucklApin 18 n'iay beAused to'holdfA thevparts' together. Thefiller and plug both servetostrength to resist crushing and. bending but lit has' torsionalvand.fle1ible.clniracteristics Acloselyresemblin those of a'wooden shaftof high grade. iiice the shaftji's'drawn, rolled lor swaged from aseamless' tube, Vthere are no joints 'liable to'fopen When4 the club isused and subjecte'dto'the severestrains j of ordinary play. "By thisprocess Zit is possible to make s afts. commercially inquan Y tityproduction andf. with such standard characteristics'as may be 4desiredas to' cost., Weight, -iexibility and' torsibility;.

The method or process of formi filed July l2, 1925.`

'1. A 'fiexi'ble, torsionable, sfaainl-less,'thin-v Walled, tubular golfclub -shaft smaller-.in

nglthe shaft is claimed in -my application 41,229"

diameter at one .en d' than atthe. other,"'

formed fof a low carbon steel tube mechanically Worked so as to elongateit and reduce `the diameter atone'end, carbonized to in-.

crease the carbon .content at the surface to A,atleast siii:l tenths ofone per cent of'ca r bon, said shaft' being heattreated, hardened head.In Figure 1 Ihave Vsho-Wn a putter a or iron provlded with a socketfll.'Tofit such a socket I 'may and" tempered. y '2. A to'rsionable'- t ilseamless tubular golfclub, shaft formedof low carhonsteelfrolledlongitudinally, carbonized to increase carbon surface, vheattreated and tem'- peredf havingj its fibre elongatedy longitudinally-7and ca-rbonized, heat .treatedand tempered and. containing approximatelyper centimr 4. A `-torsionable*tapered tubular golf-'A club .shaftformed "of `low carbon yseamless u contain from six .tenths to one percenturn of about five to six ounces.

carbon in. the surface layer and Weighing 3. A torsionable seamlesstubular golf club shaft 'formed of-low carbon steel and

